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Payment Rates

Payment Rates for Spoken Language Interpreters

Under the Court Interpreter Certification Program, effective July 1, 2024, payment rates for spoken language interpreters follow the fee schedule outlined in the following two documents:

Court Interpreter Certification Program Application for Reciprocity

An interpreter may request the Judiciary to waive certain requirements of the Court Interpreter Certification Program based on completion of equivalent components conducted or administered by other entities, including those listed on the Application Form. Requests for reciprocity will be considered on a case-by-case basis and require documentation of all credential(s).

Mileage Reimbursement

Effective July 1, 2024, court interpreters may claim mileage reimbursement for mileage expenses at a rate of $0.67 per mile for the actual miles traveled to and from the interpreter’s home address and interpreting assignment site(s).

Claims must be included on the “Invoice for Interpreting Services” form and timely submitted to the proper Court for processing. Mileage reimbursement claims will ONLY be processed if a physical home address is recorded with the Judiciary’s Office on Equality and Access to the Courts. Interpreters claiming mileage reimbursement who do not currently have a physical home address on file with the Office on Equality and Access to the Courts, MUST submit a signed, written letter providing a physical home address via mail or hand-delivery to:

Office on Equality and Access to the Courts
Hawaiʻi State Judiciary
426 Queen Street, B17
Honolulu, HI 96813

Commuter Time

Commuter time payment compensates interpreters for time spent traveling to and from court assignments that are far distances from their home. Interpreters can claim commuter time if the number of miles claimed for Mileage Reimbursement is equal to or more than the Roundtrip Mileage shown. Eligible interpreters will receive a commuter time payment equal to 1, 2, or 3 hours at the interpreter’s regular hourly rate.

Payment Rates for Translation

Translators are paid a translation fee of $0.14 per word for legal documents and $0.11 per word for non-legal documents. These fees are based on routine translation assignments of a court document in English. These fees do not apply to work for which an interpreter is already being paid the hourly fee for interpreting services.

Court Interpreter Information